Although this spiral galaxy appears unremarkable from afar, NGC 7456 is bursting with newborn stars and glowing gas, providing researchers with insight into galactic evolution.
Read moreAstronomers detected a black hole displaced nearly a kiloparsec from the center of a dwarf galaxy 230 million light-years away. Unlike most, it is actively feeding and producing radio jets, making it one of the most convincing off-nuclear cases ever confirmed. The discovery reveals that black holes can grow and shape galaxies even when not in the core, reshaping theories of cosmic evolution.
Read morePrimordial magnetic fields, billions of times weaker than a fridge magnet, may have left lasting imprints on the Universe. Researchers ran over 250,000 simulations to show how these fields shaped the cosmic web, then validated the results with observations. Their study sets a stricter upper limit on the fields’ strength, aligning with other data and suggesting important consequences for early star and galaxy formation.
Read moreHubble’s latest look at Messier 96 reveals a warped spiral galaxy glowing with rings of stellar birth. The new details shed light on how stars emerge and influence their surroundings.
Read moreA new study challenges the dream of water-rich “Hycean” planets like K2-18b, suggesting that most sub-Neptunes lose their water deep into their interiors during formation. Instead of vast oceans, these worlds likely retain only a few percent of water at the surface.
Read moreAstronomers have detected the chemical fingerprint of a frozen, water-rich planetary fragment being devoured by a white dwarf star, offering the clearest evidence yet that icy, life-delivering objects exist beyond our Solar System. The find suggests fragments like comets and dwarf planets may be common ingredients of planetary systems.
Read moreWhether wormholes exist is up for debate. But in a recent article, physicists describe a technique for detecting these pathways.
Read moreFor the first time, a freshly made heavy element, strontium, has been detected in space, in the aftermath of a merger of two neutron stars. The detection confirms that the heavier elements in the Universe can form in neutron star mergers, providing a missing piece of the puzzle of chemical element formation.
Read moreMany of the most dramatic events in the solar system — the spectacle of the Northern Lights, the explosiveness of solar flares, and the destructive impact of geomagnetic storms that can disrupt communication and electrical grids on Earth — are driven in part by a common phenomenon: fast magnetic reconnection. In this process the magnetic field lines in plasma — the gas-like state of matter consisting of free electrons and atomic nuclei, or ions — tear, come back together and release large amounts of energy.
Read moreOn a typical day at the world's biggest laser you can find scientists casually making star-like conditions using 192 high-powered lasers. Stars in the universe are formed through a process called nucleosynthesis, which fuses lighter atoms to create new heavier atomic nuclei. Natural elements found here on Earth, such as helium and aluminum, were formed through this process inside of a star not unlike our own sun.
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